Table Of ContentBig Thicket
Big Thicket onc
over 3.5 million acres of
southeast Texas. Today Big
Thicket National Preserve
protects 15 remnant areas—
108,208 acres—with nine
habitats. Multiple habitats,
and the fact that species
from other regions converge
to co-exist here, account for
this biological preserve'’s
remarkable diversity of
animals and plants.
In Big Thicket you won't find
a high peak, deep gorge, or
other dramatic feature. You
will find instead a surprising
lushness and density of
life. Big Thicket is not a
place to hurry through,
but a place to discover and
to explore.
Painted bunting
(op), eardinal
PALMETTO HARDWOOD FLATS
‘The dwarf palmetto palm’s fan-shaped
{fronds (below), give 9 tropical feel to this
hardwood forests dense understory. Watch
{or armadillos, who put on surprising bursts
(of speed despite their short legs
AYE Ch
hm A etna wetehedtrmtd A
LONGLEAF PINE UPLANDS
fire nearly destroyed the species. Preserve
staff promotes longleaf pine recovery
by planting seedlings and conducting
controlled burns to maintain this fire
adapted habitat
CYPRESS SLOUGH
Bald cypress trees love water. Their fluted
trunk and knees-woody protrusions grow-
ing up from the roots help anchor them in
wet soll Water moccasins thrive in swampy
reas near streams In season, tree frogs
falze their loud chorus to attract a mat
Explore Your Preserve
‘The Preserve offers you a diverse mix of
recreation. Rivers and creeks host canoeing,
boating, kayaking, and fishing: Birders
delight in this hotspot for adding species to
their lf lists, Hunters pursue white-tailed
deer, squirrels, rabbits, feral hogs, and
fovl. Hikers enjoy 40 miles of trails. Ther
are backpacking, bicycling, horseback riding,
and ranger-led programs, too. You may even
i‘ tree frog
find one of the Preserves 20 species of wild
orchids or come across evidence of is rich
history and cultural heritage
You can walk where great forests once stood
until commercial logging began in the 1800s
and driling for oil began in 1901 in 1877 a
get down on our hands and knees to craw!
through the thik, close-knitted growth of
baygall bushes and canebrakes. Yellow pines
Armadillo
Big Thicket National Preserve
SLOPE FOREST
Beech, magnolia, and loblolly pine favor
this well-drained habitat. Dense canopies
‘of leaves and needles that shade the forest
floor, discourage shrub growth and give
the forest ts open park-like appearance.
I's not the scenery you would expect to
find in a "big thicket"
ARID SANDYLANDS,
Ancient seas and stream currents deposited
‘sand here, forming dunes and sandhills. Sandy
Sel, hot sun, and rapid drainage create good
habitat for prickly pear cacti (above) and the
roadrunner (below lef), who is more often
‘associated with arid lands. Yucca aso grows
here, another plant more generally associa
with ae a
Plants that Eat
Insects
‘and (photo, for
See
sof the wetland
pine savannah. Both
her plants and
Binge
BAYGALL
‘An underlying clay layer traps water in poorly
‘rained depressions called baygalls or 0d
bogs. Tannin from rotting plants colors the
‘water lke coffee or root beer Tangled vines,
the calls of unseen birds, and aquatic animals
‘i to Big Thicker's mystique.
BOTTOMLAND FLOODPLAIN
Plants that can tolerate both dry spells and
‘episodes offloading grow here: sweet gum,
hickory, oak, and river cane, a native bamboo.
When streams flood, water may stand on the
land surface fora tne rather than drain
five and six feet in diameter grew here then, took mussels, fish, birds, and deer. Caddos
and the Big Thicket harbored many black bears, hunted and grew squash, corn, and beans,
panthers, wolves, and nw-extinctfvory-billed— In ther large villages they built big earthen
woodpeckers. Precious few panthers remain, mounds for ceremonies and burials, Later,
Blak bears might one dy ret, rom those _Coushatalndans pushed west by American
Follow the footsteps of the Atakapans and
Caddos who lived on the edges ofthe thicket
before European contact. Earlier cultures left
litte trace, Atakapans, hunter-gatherer,
Bearded grass
pink orchid
Nationa ark Service
US Department ofthe Interior
I leet stipes Cy Ser
in this habitat ft can hold surface water
for months or block ground water trom
rising during dry spells. Pine trees poke
long taproots through the day layer.
Camivorous plants (below) live here,
‘getting vital nitrogen—which this soll
lacks by eating insects
quid, an insect wl
fing se stuck fs
atydid on
black-eyed susan
ESTUARINE WETLANDS
Below the saltwater barrier (see map) lie
marshes, streams with tidal influence, and
tstuaries where salt and fresh waters mix
3: brackish water Estuaries, crucial nursery
areas, protect the young of shrimp and other
Species before they move into deep water.
- Inf
Snowy egret
share, See the land where English and French
settlers from east of Texas attempted cotton
plantations—but all failed before the mid
lumber mills,but 9s logging played out they
faded imo the Thicket. Oi exleration re
‘and you can see modern innovations
syouexplore the Big Thicket,
tation to explore the Big Thicket
PLACES TO See, ANG TO D0
Some popula areas are
listed here, but these are
Just the beginning, Thee
are nine land and sx water
Units to explore. You can
walk im dark, quiet forest,
float a cool creek, wateh @
plant atcha bug, hear the ycxony Cesk SAVANNAH
‘echoing tap-tap-tp of ‘it
‘woodpecker, of smell the
‘wilflowers. Take your
‘ime and reconnect with
nature as you experience
‘the Big Thicket.
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